This invention relates to headwear with a forwardly extending brim, bill or visor such as caps, hats and helmets.
The use of lights and other illuminating devices with headgear is known. However, prior illuminated headgear particularly of the soft baseball cap variety, have not been particularly well designed in terms of substantially maintaining the original cap configuration without intrusive alterations and/or additions for the lights, while at the same time being able to provide optimized illumination in the field of view of the wearer without changing the comfort and fit of the hat on the wearers head.
Incandescent light bulbs commonly have been proposed for use with lighted headgear. Unfortunately, such lighting devices generate a significant amount of heat, and are relatively heavy. Smaller, less powerful incandescent lights still may make the wearer feel quite uncomfortable after even a short while due to the proximity of the light source and the wearer""s face. Further decreasing the size of the incandescent lights, to the point where the wearer is comfortable, may cause light output to be very dim and therefore unusable for illuminating areas forwardly of the wearer. In one aspect of the present invention, this area can be at distances that reading material is commonly held forward from a reader""s eyes, e.g. on the order of ten to eighteen inches from the eyes. A light that is capable of brightly illuminating the filed of view within that range of distances is necessary for ensuring comfort in reading in dimly lighted areas. However, a lower intensity light bulb or lamp, which may be preferable to reduce heat or increase battery life, may result in less than optimal lighting causing eyestrain and discomfort. Alternatively, where illumination is desired at further distances forwardly from the hat wearer, such as when the hat is being worn during sport""s activities undertaken in dim light conditions, e.g. jogging at night, incandescent bulbs, particularly those of the size and weight suitable for use with hats, cannot provide the desired illumination far enough forwardly from the hat wearer.
The use of fiber optic lighting devices instead of incandescent light bulbs is known. In such devices, optical fibers are bundled together to create a light producing device. The nature of fiber optics is such that there is no heat generated at the point where the light is typically transmitted. Unfortunately, such devices suffer from a rather major limitation. Namely, a very intense and powerful light source must be available to provide light to the optical fibers. For example, headgear such as worn by surgeons having a fiber optic lighting devices must at all times stay tethered to a fiber optic light source, which severely restricts the mobility of the user and thus the ease of use of the headgear. A portable light source that stays connected to the fiber optic light head via fiber optic cables extending away from the wearer is not desirable because of the inconveniences of having to carry the light source as well as having to deal with the dangling connecting lines of the fiber optic devices.
An additional problem that exists with fiber optic devices, as well as incandescent lighting devices, is rapid battery consumption. Incandescent light bulbs are known to consume large amounts of power. Similarly, a fiber optic device, since it requires a strong lighting source, also requires a large amount of power. As a result, the user is forced to change batteries often or stay tethered to a constant power source or light source.
Another disadvantage in prior art lighting devices is the manner in which surfaces are illuminated. Lighting devices used in the medical field generally produce a single fixed narrow beam of light to brightly illuminate the particular stationary body area on which the doctor may be operating. However, such a single narrow beam would not be particularly helpful for the broader or wider lighted field of view needed by runners, for example.
Accordingly, there is a need for lighted headgear that is optimized in terms of its fit and wearability, and its ability to project light for use in poorly lit or dim areas. More particularly, a hat having lights that are arranged to direct an optimum amount of light without inconvenience to the hat wearer is needed. Further, lights that are very compact and lightweight, while still providing the necessary lighting strength and having a sufficiently long life for the power sources that power these lights would be desirable.
In accordance with the present invention, illuminated headwear with one or more illumination devices are provided to illuminate the area forwardly of the person wearing the hat. The preferred headwear is a soft sports hat or cap having a forwardly extending, more rigid brim such as commonly worn by baseball players. In this form, the lighted hat substantially retains its original unlighted configuration from the perspective of the wearer both in terms of its appearance and comfort when worn. As such hats are worn fairly commonly whether or not the wearer is engaged in a sporting activity, keeping the hat""s appearance substantially similar to that when in its unlighted configuration is fairly important. Manifestly, since such hats are worn fairly frequently and over long stretches of time, they also need to be fairly comfortable.
Accordingly, the preferred hat employs a pair of small, light emitting diodes (LEDs) and in particular the lens portions thereof, e.g. less than approximately 0.375 inch in length and approximately 0.1875 inch in diameter, that are secured to the brim portion of the hat at or adjacent to the front of the outer edge thereof in a non-obtrusive manner. The LEDs are of a solid-state material so that they generate high intensity beams of light projecting forwardly form the front edge of the brim and do not require a large size thereof and large power source therefor. The high intensity LEDs can be efficiently arranged so that a minimum number of lights are employed on the hat while still achieving a well-lit area projecting far forwardly from the hat wearer. In particular, only a pair of small LEDs spaced laterally on either side of the hats fore and aft extending centerline need be employed to achieve high powered lighting with the hat herein. Since the LEDs project comes of light forwardly therefrom, there will only be a relatively small unlit area immediately forwardly of the brim front edge that extends in an uninterrupted manner between these two cones of light. This unlit area is of little consequence as it is generally above the wearer""s field of view, and thus saves the need for providing a light on the hat centerline to light up this area. Thus, the present hat includes an efficient positioning of the high intensity lights thereon so that they are not obtrusive both in terms of the hat""s appearance, and do not require significant space in and on the hat for associated electrical circuitry, as will be described hereinafter.
In the preferred forms, the laterally spaced LEDs can be either secured in cut-out notches formed in the front edge of the brim portion or housed in compact, self-contained light modules so that they are generally adjacent the outer edge of the hat brim portion. In either case, the brim portion need not have its thickness significantly increased over its normal thickness, and thus it still retains it original form. The light modules are substantially the same as described in applicants"" ""919 patent application, and thus provide high intensity light for the hat emanating from very compact housings of the modules. However, because the compact light modules are secured onto the brim portion and thus project therefrom, they are less desired from an aesthetic standpoint. By contrast, the notches in the brim are preferably sized so that approximately half or more of the size or length of the LEDs fits therein so that only a relatively smaller portion of the LED dome lens projects therefrom. In this manner, when the lights are off, the LEDs will not be particularly noticeable so that the hat can be worn in a normal manner from an aesthetic standpoint.
In the most preferred form of the hat with the LEDs secured in the brim notches as described above, the power circuitry for the LEDs is arranged and configured to maintain the hat configuration substantially unaltered from its normal configuration without lights. As is known, baseball caps typically are of fabric material in the form of triangular panels stitched together to form the rear crown portion of the hat sized to define an interior space in which a wearer""s head is snugly received. Around the bottom of the crown portion, a small sweat band is stitched thereto so that there are layers of fabric material at the bottom of the crown portion. The bottom of the crown portion is interrupted by an opening at the rear thereof spanned by an adjustment strap for adjusting the crown portion to fit tightly on a wearers"" head. The brim portion has a relatively thin, rigid insert, e.g. approximately an xe2x85x9 of an inch thick, with fabric material sewn so as to extend tightly onto its upper and lower surfaces and around the brim outer edge including the front and side portions thereof. In this regard, the fabric has a pair of openings aligned with the notches through which the dome lenses of the LEDs can project, so that the light source of the present hat takes up very little space on the hat brim portions and remains unobtrusive for improved aesthetics. Electrical leads or wire interconnecting a power source attached to the crown portion to the LEDs are routed between the layers of fabric material of the crown portion, and between the brim insert and the fabric thereon. In this manner, the leads are concealed from view for substantially their entire length. Preferably, the leads are routed around the front edge of the hat brim so that any slight increase in brim thickness that they cause is substantially unnoticeable by an observer of a person wearing the hat, particularly since they can be located in the thicker area of overlap between upper and lower fabric coverings on the brim or slightly rearwardly spaced therefrom. The preferred location for the power source is at the back of the hat such as on the adjustment strap so that it is not noticeable to someone looking face-to-face at the hat wearer. The mounting of the power source to the strap is such that the power source does not project into the interior space. Instead, the crown interior space is kept free of any encumbrances associated with the power circuitry for the LEDs to maintain the crown""s comfort and fit when being worn.
In a preferred form, the power source is in a compact module similar to the light modules although with the LEDs removed for being mounted in the front brim portion notches, as has been described. Because of the efficiency and intensity of the solid-state LEDs, the housing of the module has very compact dimensions as the power source can comprise thin, coin-cell batteries while still providing a very powerful light source for the hat. In this manner, the weight of the power module can be kept to a minimum so that there is little in the way of inconvenience to the person wearing the lighted hat herein.
The hat can be specifically adapted so that a field of view at typical reading distances (usually 10 to 18 inches from the wearer""s eyes) is particularly well lit, although if the hat is mainly desired for other activities that do not require such a well-focused illuminated area, then such adaptation need not be provided. In fact, with the preferred high intensity LED lights described more fully hereinafter, areas extending hundreds of feet in front of the hat wearer and even up to a mile with optimum ambient conditions will be well lit with the lighted hat herein. This is true even with the lights directed as described above for providing enhanced lighting at typical reading distances. The present invention may be incorporated in a wide variety of either soft or rigid headgear, such as caps, hats or helmets having a forwardly extending member referred to as a bill, brim or visor. Examples of such headwear include soft sports caps, firemen""s helmets (such as those made of composite material and having a distinctive traditional shape), hard hats or safety helmets of the impact resistant type (usually having an internal suspension, widely used at construction sites and other work locations), as well as less substantial protective headgear oftentimes referred to as bump caps.
As mentioned, high intensity lamps or lights and light mounts therefor can cooperate to light a xe2x80x9creadingxe2x80x9d area with a maximized amount of light provided in the reading distance range. More particularly, highly efficient and high intensity light-emitting diodes (LEDs) which are mounted either in the brim or in housings associated with the headgear, and which are configured to fix narrow beams of light directed slightly inward toward each other so that the beams overlap in the reading distance range thus providing double the amount of light for reading over that provided by a single one of the lights. If desired, however, the invention could be employed with a single light.
When lights are associated with housings, the housings are configured and attached adjacent outer portions of the brims or visors, so that the inwardly directed light beams light up the areas generally in the user""s field of view. Further, the small size and efficient nature of the preferred solid-state material, e.g., InGaN (indium gallium nitride), for the LEDs, allows very small power supplies to be used such as disc-shaped coin cell batteries for powering the LED lamps which, in turn, allows both the light source and power source herein to be minimized in their number and size. The power source and light source can be self-contained in a highly compact housing or the light source can be removed from the housing to be fit in the brim notches. In this regard, the present invention also contemplates the provision of compactly sized lighting systems as described above that do not interfere with the user""s activities or the comfort and fit of the hat when being worn, as previously described.
The preferred lamps employed herein are a small lightweight LED solid state devices that provide a very bright light, while consuming very little power. As such, the batteries enclosed in the housing are small and do not need to be changed as frequently as devices that utilize incandescent lights or fiber optics, which require large batteries. The LEDs provide a relatively narrow beam of light that can be well focused in a particular direction. For example, when two light sources are provided, the LEDs in each source are positioned such that the cones of light produced by the LEDs in the light sources begin intersecting at a point closely adjacent to or coinciding with the start of the range of ideal reading distances. As such, the illuminated reading portion receives the brightest light possible since the intersection of both cones of light are trained on that area. Another advantage of using the high intensity LEDs is that because they consume such a small amount of power, virtually no heat is dissipated. As such, the LEDs are well-adapted for the lighted hats herein as they do not generate the heat of incandescent bulbs so that they can be employed around the face of one wearing the light hat. Therefore, a user is able to wear headgear having the light modules incorporated therewith for longer periods of time without suffering from heat and without being bothered by the weight of the illumination devices.